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Notes from the Glorieta

Summer Camp Superheroes
BBP Awards 2 New Scholarships to SJBS Students
Curriculum Development Phase 2 Complete
Washington DC Event Cultivates New Supporters
Sage and Dybdahl wedding nuptials support BECA
How Can I Get Involved with BECA?

2010 Sponsorship Campaign Needs You in the Classroom!

Each year, BECA accomplishes miraculous feats on the shoulders of socially-conscious U.S. college graduates who forego a salary and the comforts of the developed world in order to help indigent Honduran families and to learn from another culture. But, just like the students they teach, our volunteers and staff also need help. To support BECA's efforts, we raise money from a variety of sources -- fundraisers, foundations, social tourism income -- but by far, the largest portion of funding for our mountain-moving comes from our grassroots network of supporters - yes, you!

As we grow and serve even more Honduran children through the efforts of an ever growing volunteer corps, we must also increase the size of our support base. So, we are calling upon those of you who have so generously donated in the past and we are also asking those of you who have never donated to please make a contribution this year. Since we know that many of you will never have the opportunity to see our efforts on the ground in Honduras, each August we try to bring our efforts to you through our Classroom Sponsors campaign. Classroom Sponsors is our way of offering you, our supporters, an opportunity to adopt a specific teacher and his/her students so that you can learn about them through videos and photos (and occasional written letters to our most generous donors) and know that your generosity will enable them to learn and grow together throughout an entire academic year.

Last year, our Classroom Sponsors campaign raised nearly $25,000 from online donations -- a figure which we must meet, and in fact surpass this year, in order to faithfully fulfill the weighty responsibility of ensuring our students' academic and social growth as well as facilitating a meaningful and memorable experience for our faithful volunteer teachers. Help us continue doing what so many before us said was impossible - you too can play a role in proving that underprivileged Honduran children can learn and thrive when given the opportunity. Please visit our 2010 Classroom Sponsors page where you can read about individual classes, their faithful BECA teachers, and sponsor a specific class.

New Teaching Team Wraps up Summer Institute

Marni Singer teaches during the Summer Academy by Josh Balser (5th grade teacher) with additional reporting and photography by Norah Tahiri (Kinder & Prepa teacher)

It has been nearly four weeks since first arriving here in Cofradia and in such a short time so much has changed, yet so much more has become familiar. I am now beginning to understand what daily life as a BECA volunteer really means: exhaustion.

Our days generally begin before 5:00 am when that first rooster crows and you think, "Oh man, it’s about to get hot." After another two hours, more roosters crow and I finally make the decision that sleeping in is no longer an option. That was my warm up, the day just hit full throttle. Continue Reading.

Montuca Sound System Plays Benefit Concerts
by Mike Buttram

It’s a common theme, seen and heard in every media venue we use today: the musician who uses their popularity and platform to promote a good cause. Here at BECA we all know that our cause is most assuredly a good one and now we have musicians championing us to prove it!

Okay, so they might not be as well known as Bono, but I’ve been to a Montuca Sound System concert and I’ll tell you, there is not one body that isn't dancing to the latin-percussion-driven funk-reggae that they turn out. And on top of their musical talents, these four Hondurans and one Guatemalan are entrepreneurial professionals by day, killer musicians by night, with a social twist. That’s where BECA fits in. Read more.

Montuca Sound System

Members of Montuca Sound System showcase their musical talents for the SJBS Summer Camp. From left, Eduardo Umanzor, Carlos Roman, and Gary Lexer.

BECA Hires First-Ever Director of Program Development

The BECA Board is delighted to announce the hiring of '09-'10 BECA Administrator Mike Buttram as BECA's first-ever Director of Program Development. Mike will focus on community outreach as BECA expands into new schools during the 2011-2012 school year. In addition to stewarding relationships with our Honduran partners, Mike's responsibilities will include in-country program management, overseeing our student assessment program, building relationships and capacity to support our students as they graduate from our partner schools, as well as fundraising and promotion of BECA's efforts in order to ensure our ability to recruit socially conscious volunteers and continue to support them in the meaningful ways.

Given the often delicate nature of developing and maintaining community partners across cultural and linguistic boundaries, Mike proved to be the ideal candidate for the role after having spent the past year accruing knowledge about BECA's approach to community-building and vision for growth. Director Laurence Birdsey says, "As Mike's volunteer stint was drawing to a close, the Board looked for ways that we could hold onto him as a resource, formally or informally, given how much time and effort he poured into his Administrator role over the past year." Mike felt similarly, remarking that "finding an opportunity to work for an organization with ideals and mission that one believes in wholeheartedly is rare. In taking on this new role with BECA I feel very lucky to have found just that." Continue reading.

A TRIBUTE

2009-2010 Teaching Team Finishes Strong
by Sophia Bahlkow, '09-'10 6th grade teacher

No matter how rugged it looks during the day, the smog and particle matter that looms over San Pedro Sula alight from trash fires is nothing short of breathtaking in the night sky--the Central American equivalent of aurora borealis. And that’s precisely what I gazed down upon from a rooftop balcony during my final hours in Honduras. Beside me stood two of my fellow BECA teachers and with our eyes on the smoky horizon we discussed the past year and the life we had made together. An adventure that ended in a flash of tears, gratitude, paperwork, and of course, sweat.

TEARS: As I prepared to leave my terrific colleagues, community and class of sixth graders I wondered how to let go. Anything that was a finality started the waterworks. Some of my favorite, year end, tear blurred images include: Continue Reading.

WHAT IS BECA?

BECA means "scholarship" in Spanish. We are a U.S.-based 501(c)(3) founded in 2001 to promote affordable bilingual education and cultural exchange. In 2004, BECA helped open San Jeronimo Bilingual School (SJBS), a community owned and operated school in Cofradia, Honduras. BECA recruits and trains English speaking teachers for SJBS at no cost to the school, which allows the school to charge artificially low tuition. Further, BECA implements the school's robust scholarship program, stipulating that at least 25% of the student body be comprised of beca students at all times. In the next two years, BECA aims to help create a wide network of affiliate schools that services hundreds more students.

Forward this message to a friend! | BECA is a registered 501(c)3 | Tax ID # (EIN): 52-2374444 | www.becaschools.org